John Scofield Plays 'Confirmation'

[James W]

Having been working on this tune for a solid few months now and only occasionally and fleetingly am I able to improv something passable over some of it.

Anyway, with this in mind, am I pleased to have just discovered this, which was uploaded t'other week. Suffice to say, I plan to transcribe it. Oh yeah, and a nice lesson in not necessarily having to play the head note for note as Bird played it (although I've been working hard on doing just that!).

This is a great performance.

[James W]

The first chorus -

[Rob MacKillop]

Perfectly tonal. He just makes it sound modern.

[James W]

Perfectly tonal. He just makes it sound modern.

Yes, a lot's in the articulation and phrasing, not to mention the rhythm which swings like nobody's business. It really sounds 'off the cuff' - and yes, I was surprised to discover a few moments which approach something like a cliché, except they don't sound hackneyed in his hands, and he adds some chromaticism usually or other means of making it sound cool. I'm looking forward to discovering more of this...